Crap in the vacuum lines

[blalor]

I pulled out the intake this week to un-bypass a leaky heater core and do the "mess under the intake" mod (even though I replaced all of the hoses about a year ago). I found that a couple of the large vacuum hoses (the one attached to the valve cover, and the one that attaches to the bottom of the throttle body) were filled with a thick, creamy foam. It's pretty nasty looking.



My curiosity was overcome by intense cold last night, so I didn't keep poking around to see if the idle control valve and attached lines are similarly fouled.

Any idea what this stuff is? It looks to me like the foam you'd see with a blown head gasket, but the dipstick and coolant both look fine. I did have the engine half apart for about 3 months this winter while I replaced the valve train components (timing chain, sprockets, etc.) and I noticed that the exposed, oil-covered parts of the engine got a white film on them when I heated the garage. This seems glop seems out of proportion, however, and I did change the oil after that job. Since replacing these hoses, I've probably driven less than 3,000 miles. The engine starts *very* hard, especially when cold, and it's been suggested to me that I could have a fuel delivery problem, but I also suspect there's a vacuum leak somewhere (hence the mess-delete).

I'm hoping warm water and Dawn will be sufficient for cleaning them out. I've also got some of that snake oil known as Sea Foam that I'm going to run through the fuel tank and a vacuum line, but I'd like to know if I've got a bigger issue here.

Thanks,
Brian

[Dj Buttchug]

in most cases its moisture built up with crankcase deposits and some oil.

the best way to fix this problem is to pull your intake mani, replace all the gaskets, fix any cracked hoses or leaks where moisture can get in, and re route you crank case vent tube to atmosphere...

[blalor]

Thanks. All gaskets and hoses are less than a year old, and have very few miles on 'em. I replaced the engine in April and went through pretty much everything, except the head gasket. When I had the timing chain cover off recently, I replaced all of *those* gaskets, including the valve cover gaskets.

Stuff got very wet from condensation when I was working on the timing chain, so maybe that's all it is. But still. :(

[AndrewBird]

It's pretty normal. Most engines will build up a layer of gunk like that. It's basically oil/water vapor sludging up. Makes a mess of things, but won't hurt anything.

[blalor]

Ick. Ok, then. I'll clean it out and hope for the best. Thanks again!